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UPDATED

Yesterday I received an email from an enterprising PR student from Leeds Met. The emailer (who shall remain nameless since I haven’t had her approval to make public this email) asked me my thoughts on what my top five tips are for being a good PR consultant. My comments along with others will be part of an up and coming article in student PR magazine, Behind the Spin.

Always happy to receive a bit of kudos. It’s good for the ego you know. But at the same time realising my limited experience in the field I thought it would be best to throw it out to the blogosphere. Constantin says he’s currently tracking 555 PR feeds so this kind of question is made for the blogosphere. So the more views and opinions received the better her article will be. Here are my five:

1. You should ideally have an interest in people.

Working in consultancy will put you in contact with a lot of new people. It could be clients, potential clients, suppliers or colleagues. Having an interest in people and enjoying meeting people generally will help you develop good relationships.

2. Stay on top of the news agenda.

There’s nothing better than being the font of all news knowledge to both clients and colleagues. Stay ahead.

3. PR yourself

If you can’t do it for yourself then how are you expected to do it for others?

4. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes

* The person who doesn’t make mistakes is unlikely to make anything. (Paul Arden)
* I haven’t failed, I’ve had a hundred ideas that didn’t work. (Benjamin Franklin)
* Of the 200 light bulbs that didn’t work, every failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the next attempt. (Thomas Edison)
* If we don’t get lost, we’ll never find a new route. (Joan Littlewood)

5. Take each day as it comes

You’ll have your good days and bad days. You’ll have days when you can knock out a thousands words of copy in an instant, you’ll have days when you can’t string a paragraph together. There will be times when in brainstorms when you’re throwing more ideas around than Einstein, there will be times when your only constructive contribution is the 3D duck on your notepad.

Take each day (and situation) as it comes and try to learn something every time.

Okay, in the spirit of true openness, transparency and wisdom of the crowds I’m opening this up. I’ve never been a huge supporter of tagging other bloggers except this time around. So Erin, Alex, Paull, Chris, Owen (I know you’re still studying but value your opinion), Piaras and Jeffrey… what’s your thoughts? Anything to add? Anyone else?

It would be good to take the global perspective on this IMHO…

UPDATE

Aussie PR blogger, Paull Young says:

* Teamwork

* Get in the know

* Learn continually

* Focus on Ethics

* Find your passion & follow it

Chris Clarke says: “To add to ‘PR Yourself’, or perhaps to expand on it, I would suggest you network as much as possible. Meet people, go to the conferences, participate in the blogosphere, get your name out there. In short, like you said: ‘PR Yourself’

Simon Wakeman says: “The only tip I’d add to the collected thoughts so far would be to have fun! I think I produce my best results when I’m enjoying my work - it makes me try that little bit harder to deliver the best results I can. For that reason I’m always careful what projects I take on. I make sure that whatever I do interests and challenges me. There’s always going to be more and less fun projects to work on, but it’s about making the overall balance fun.”

Heather Yaxley says:

* Build your knowledge of online social media

(including setting up a bloglines account and feeding into colleagues who haven’t yet got this new world)

* Network

360 degrees, upwards/downwards/sideways inside and outside your organisations (the PR ‘black book’ of contacts is still vital)

* Become an expert

identify an area where you can shine and be recognised (no matter your age or experience) as the master

* Add value

be useful to those around you, and identify ways you can prove you are adding value (key for the CV rather than boring ‘responsibilities

* Value your own reputation

manage what others say about you when you’re not around - you are your most important client and need to build ‘brand-me’

Sherrilynne Starkie says: “Surely being a good writer must make the top five. For me it’s number one.”

My Australian colleague, Luke Schepen says: “I’m going to bring one to the table. Position yourself as a trusted advisor. Whether you are working in an in house role or in a consultancy, a PR pro must position themselves as a trusted advisor in the organisation, and in most cases to the CEO. People should know they can come to you to seek counsel and walk away with the best advice you can give them.